Speaking publicly for the first time since the removal of a cancerous testicular tumor, Nuggets forward Nene spoke to The Denver Post about his perseverance.

“It was scary, but I believe in God,” Nene said Friday night after Denver’s victory over San Antonio. “And now I’m a survivor.

“It’s been emotional, man. I thank all these guys because there’s a lot of people — from the Nuggets administration, the Nuggets family, the fans — I thank for the support, for the love, for giving me strength through this situation. My family, friends all helped me.”

Before the game, Nuggets media relations director Eric Sebastian spoke to Nene about possibly sitting on the bench.

“When Sebastian talked to me and said, ‘How do you feel?’, it was emotional,” Nene said.

Nene told Sebastian he was nervous about sitting on the bench for the first time, but that it was “a good nervous.” Nene even told Sebastian that he didn’t want to do an in-game interview with ESPN, afraid he might cry on national TV.

Benjamin Hochman was a sports columnist for The Denver Post until August 2015 before leaving for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, his hometown newspaper. Hochman previously worked for the New Orleans Times-Picayune, winner of two Pulitzer Prizes for its Hurricane Katrina coverage. Hochman wrote the Katrina-themed book “Fourth and New Orleans,” published in 2007.

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